


La Vie En Rose

by Slytherin_vikiss



Category: The Walking Dead & Related Fandoms, The Walking Dead (Comics), The Walking Dead (TV)
Genre: F/M, Mentions of Cancer, Threats of Rape/Non-Con, mention of suicide, mentions of depression
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2017-12-16
Updated: 2018-04-08
Packaged: 2019-02-15 11:29:45
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Rape/Non-Con, Underage
Chapters: 3
Words: 14,024
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/13030119
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Slytherin_vikiss/pseuds/Slytherin_vikiss
Summary: Louise ran away from The Sanctuary after her mother died. One day, she stumbles upon Alexandria, a place where everybody was treated equally and she could spend the rest of her days at peace, one by one until the time came for her to join her mother. When Rick's group arrives, she's not sure what to make of them; especially the annoying boy with sheriff's hat who follows her around





	1. Material Girl

**Author's Note:**

> I shouldn’t be starting another story but I couldn’t help it!  
> This is my first TWD fanfic, and I haven’t read the comics, so I apologize if I get something wrong.  
> The title of the story was inspired on a song with the same name by Édith Piaf, if I’m not mistaken.  
> Let me know what you think of it so far. Criticism is always good.  
> I do warn you that english isn’t my first language, so sorry for any grammar or spelling mistakes. Please, don’t be afraid to point them out.  
> Warning: this chapter contains mentions of depression, suicide and sexual abuse. It won’t be the last time subjects like these are mentioned, but I’ll try to remember to warn you.  
> BTW, Carl is 16 years old on this story  
> Enjoy!

**Chapter 1: Material Girl.**

  
  


The small branches of the trees barely moved with the hot breeze that passed by them. The sun shone upon earth, and some of its strongest rays managed to break through and grace the muddy surface. There weren’t any animals close by, nor signals of water. The silence was unnerving, and it would have bristled even the bravest of men.

The highway next to it didn’t give away any indications of life.

It was a scary picture, almost like something out of a good horror movie, and it would have been wise to be armed in such place, in such time.

The silence of the forest was interrupted by footsteps and grunts.

Our protagonist should have known better, she should have paid more attention. If it weren’t for the dog running beside her she would be long dead.

Louise thought she could survive outside the walls of The Sanctuary, but in her desperation for leaving the place, she didn’t took into consideration that she hadn’t been outside said walls in over three years.

She tried to glance back, wanting to check for biters even though she knew they were still there. Of course they were, she could hear them.

_ Or maybe I’m just going insane. _

A girl could dream.

The backpack was slowing her down, but she didn’t want to throw it. There were few things there that she refused to lose, but stopping to take them out while the biters were still after her wasn’t an option. 

John had always complained about that, how Louise and her mother would always pack more than what they needed; and she had always made fun of him in return. If she ever saw him again, she would let him know he had been right.

A quick glance to her companion told her that he wouldn’t hold on much longer, and neither would she.

They had been running for what felt like hours, and even if they managed to get rid of the biters, she would still be low on water. She had ran out of food the previous day.

She took the meat knife she had stolen from the kitchens out of her boot and spun around. The biter rushed towards her, and Louise met it halfway, stabbing it in the eye. It fell lifeless to the ground.

She looked up. The other five seemed more fresh, and she wasn’t sure she had strength enough to kill them all. At least there weren’t as many as when the chase started.

A bark brought her back to reality.

She kept on running, making sure to keep the road to her left. She was scared of the road. She still expected him to appear out of nowhere on a monstrous truck.

Her side hurt, her mouth was as dry as a desert, and her legs protested.

She tripped and fell.

“¡Ow!” she tried to get up, ignoring the cut on her palm the best she could.

The dog barked again, and she looked up to see a biter behind him.

“Tony” she tried to yell, but he had already sensed it, jumping upon it. “Don’t!”

The dog stopped before his teeth broke through the btier and he got off. Louise wasn’t sure if the virus also affected animals, but she didn’t want to find out.

She took a big rock and smashed it against its head, splashing more blood over her t-shirt. She couldn’t even remember what colour it used to be.

“C’mon, Tony” she called, forcing her body to keep moving.

The world began to spin, a little at first.

The sun was starting to disappear, much to her despair, and soon she wouldn’t see her attackers.  

She thought she heard an engine, but ignored it.

_ Maybe I should stop. _

It was tempting. If she stopped running, it would hurt for a while, and then it would also stop. Maybe there was an afterlife after all, and she would see her mother once more.

God! She missed that woman.

She barely felt Tony’s teeth on the hem of her shirt, pulling her with him, encouraging to try harder. But she couldn’t try harder.

She tripped and fell. Again.

Tony started barking, and Louise tried to stop him. He would only attract more of those.

She could barely see; if it was because of exhaustion or because of the sun, she wasn’t sure anymore. She was soaked in sweat to the bones, and the blood loss on her hand hadn’t helped.

Everything seemed to slow down, and all sound seemed distant all of the sudden.

She could make out Tony’s barks and whines, but it sounded cushioned. 

She barely noticed the pair of black boots stopping next to her head.

Closing her eyes, she welcomed the end.

* * *

 

She heard some rumbling, and then she felt the light. Her head hurt, and so did her hand, and the rest of her.

A groan abandoned her body, and her goodhand went to her head.

“Ah!” a voice spoke near her “You’re awake. Good”

Slowly, she opened her eyes and waited for them to adjust. A cream ceiling greeted her. Taking in her surrounding quickly, she saw a door leading to an almost desert street and several windows open.

Outside,a few people went on about their day, but Louise didn’t recognize anybody. 

She didn’t recognize the place either. It was a relief, to an extent, realizing that that place wasn’t the Sanctuary. But other part of her knew it could be worse. 

She noticed everything was clean and neat, and the houses stood proudly, each better than the other. It was the kind of house Louise’s mother had always wanted for her children. Two story with a white picket fence.

She tried to sit up, but the world began to spin.

“Take it easy”

She felt a pair of strong hands on her bare arms and flinched.

“It’s ok. I just want to help”

She opened her eyes once more and they adjusted.

In front of her there was a tall, blond man with blue eyes. He was staring down at her with concerned eyes, a small flashlight on his hand.

He didn’t seem dangerous, and Louise assumed his only advantage was his stature and strength.

She decided to not attack him right away. Besides, she was still weak, and no matter how fast she could run, she knew it wouldn’t be enough.

She tried to speak, but her throat was sore.

The man noticed, and he quickly handed her a bottle of water.

She took it, and not caring about the possibility of it being poisoned, drank greedily. The liquid tasted like nectar of the gods, even though it was a little bit warm.

“How long have I been unconscious?” she asked, forcing herself to stop drinking. 

“Not that long. They found you outside the gates last night. It’s almost time for dinner. Here” he held the flashlight over her face and looked into her eyes. “All good”

She looked around the room. There was no signs of weapons, and all the medicine was locked up.

Getting up, she looked down at her bare feet, and noticed that she was clean, and fresh clothes adorned her figure.

“Who…”

“My wife Jesse washed you up and changed your clothes” the man explained, handing her a pair of socks and old converse.

Louise put them on, still looking around. Everything was painted with light colours, and the books, drugs and syringes looked out of place.

The shoes were a little bit big, but she was grateful to have something to wear.

Her eyes widened.

“Where’s Tony?” she asked, walking around the house, ignoring the black edges on her line of vision and the man’s voice.

“Your dog is fine. He’s quite friendly”

The man opened the door and signaled for her to get closer.

She did as he asked with slow steps, and sighed in relief upon seeing her companion running around with a few kids.

She whistled and Tony stopped, looking around with a tense body before spotting her on the porch. His tail began to move from side to side, and she smiled as he ran towards her.

Tony tackled her to the ground, licking her face.

“Hey, buddy” she  hugged him, kissing his soft fur. Someone had given him a bath, and she pitied the poor soul.

“He’s quite friendly, isn’t he?” the man smiled softly, patting Tony in the head.

The dog lashed his teeth, growling at the man.

“Easy” ordered Louise, standing up. She tried to act nonchalant, keeping a hand on Tony while the other searched for a weapon that wasn’t there. Tony was indeed friendly, and Louise trusted him with her life; when he behaved like that in front of someone, it wasn’t good news.

“I’m Pete, by the way” he said, offering a hand. “Pete Anderson. I’m the doctor of Alexandria”

Before she could question him about the place, another man walked up the steps of the porch.

“Hey, Pete” he greeted Louise with a warm smile and a firm handshake “I’m Aaron. It’s nice to meet you. You caused quite the stir last night”

She noticed some people stopping what they were doing to openly stare at her.

_ Did people forget about manners when shit went down too? _

“I’m sorry?” she said, not sure on how to answer.

“It’s fine. We’re just glad you’re ok” He stepped aside and motioned for her to walk “If you’ll come with me, Deanna will like to see you”

She didn’t know who that Deanna chick was, but if she wouldn’t come herself, she must have been important.

He seemed friendly, but the world had taught her that looks were deceiving.

“You first” she said.

He nodded, walking down the steps, Louise following behind.

She didn’t recognize the doctor on her way out, and kept a firm hand on Tony’s fur.

Her empty stomach decided to demand attention, and Aaron turned towards her with a kind smile. She blushed.

“I’ll make sure to bring you something after you talk with Deanna”

She never let her eyes settle on something, examining her surroundings. People seemed happier than in the Sanctuary, more at ease. Everything was cleaner and greener.

“Who’s Deanna?” she asked, narrowing her eyes upon seeing the wall that surrounded the place. From the distance, it looked resistant.

“She’s our leader. She and her husband have been in charge of Alexandria since everything started”

“So, this place’s been here since day one?”

“Yup”

“And how much trouble have you had with biters and hunters?”

“Not much” he shrugged, only to hesitate. Louise eyes fell upon him immediately. It was a welcome distraction from the prying eyes of the people “We had some trouble with a group awhile ago, and we only looked for lone travelers for some time, but Deanna’s given me green lights to start looking again”

He smiled at the end, as if the idea of bringing a bunch of strangers inside his walls wasn’t worrisome.

_ Negan wouldn’t take a group bigger than five. _

She shook her head. She didn’t want to think of him,

“How long have you been here?” she asked, taking notice of the unoccupied field to her right. 

“A couple years. My boyfriend and I ran into this place when they were finishing up the wall” he pointed behind him “Deanna’s husband, Reg, was a professor of architecture and took care of it all”

She nodded.

“And the rest of these people?” she asked, nodding to her side, where an old lady was taking a peek at her from a window.

“Most of them have been here since the beginning”

She looked around once more, a frown forming on her face. So, most of them had probably no idea of the situation outside the walls, and it was most likely they didn’t know how to fight either. She wondered if it was just stupidity or a tactic from the leader to keep everything under control.

“Don’t worry” Aaron gave her a slight nudge on her arm, then cleared his throat awkwardly under Louise's blank expression “You’ll like it here. It’s safe. There’s even a school; you’ll make friends there”

She raised a dark eyebrow.

“What makes you think I wanna stay?”

“Why not?” Aaron seemed perplexed. He took a glance at Alexandria, as if trying to find something wrong with the place “It’s safe”

Louise didn’t say anything, locking eyes with a middle aged woman. She stood stiffly on a porch, her straight light brown hair barely graced her shoulders, and her blue eyes were stuck on her. They shared a quick glance from head to toe, measuring each other.

Aaron smiled at the woman.

“Deanna, this is,...” he turned to her, remembering that she hadn’t said her name. 

“Louise” she said, letting go of Tony.

The dog sat next to her and tilted his head, looking up at Deanna.

“It is very nice to meet you, Louise. I am Deanna Monroe. Come on in”

She stepped aside and Louise hesitated before following Tony inside.

The house was nicely decorated, but Louise focused her attention on the camera waiting in the living room.

“What’s that for?”

“Transparency”answered Deanna, closing the door behind her. “Please, take a seat”

Louise walked around the armchair and to the bookcase, where a clarinet rested. She ran her fingers over the instrument, and  almost heard John playing it. It bought a small smile to her face.

“Do you play?” 

Shaking her head, she turned to Deanna.

“My brother does,...did” she answered, unsure.

The older woman nodded, taking a seat and inviting her to do the same.

Louise tried to not to blink in the direction of the camera; they had always made her nervous.

Tony walked up to Deanna and licked her hand. The woman jumped, surprised, before gently petting the dog.

“He truly is a loyal pet” she said, smiling warmly at her “My son Spencer heard him barking and that lead him to you. This lil’ fella wouldn’t leave your side”

Louise didn’t say anything. She had always been bad at judging character, and ever since the world changed, she had had to be even more careful. She was grateful for Tony, he had never been wrong about someone.

“Could you state your full name to the camera?”

“Louise Rossi” she said automatically, maintaining eye contact.

Deanna nodded.

“Italian, isn’t it?”

“My great grandparents were from Italy, but I’m not sure where exactly. Florence, I think”

She had never asked much about her great grandparents. She only knew they eloped to a little country in Latin America because their families wouldn’t approve the match. Then, her mother moved to New Jersey when she and John were little, and her abuelos remained in their hometown.

“I’ve never met a Louise before”

Deanna was trying to break the ice, she could tell; making chit chat and trying to get her to trust her.

She just nodded, not knowing how to answer.

“And how old are you, Louise?”

“What day is it?” she asked in return, sparing a quick glance at Tony, who laid down at her feet and began to bite the coffee table. A look from Louise was enough to get him to stop.

“March 24”

“Then I’m 18, ma’am”

Her birthday had been on the twenty second.

“Just call me Deanna” she intertwined her fingers and tilted her head “You seem younger”

Outside, the skies were turning grey, and the threat of rain began to sneak up on them.

Louise tried to focus on what the woman was saying, but the idea of getting something to eat assaulted her mind.

“Sorry. What?”

Deanna repeated the question.

“I asked how long you’ve been on your own? Where are your parents?”

“Dead” she said, not wanting to reveal her entire life to a stranger “And I’m not sure for how long I’ve been on my own.”

Deanna nodded.

“And you mentioned a brother”

Louise moved; she didn’t like interrogations, and so many questions were putting her on edge.

“He was studying abroad when everything happened”

“I’m sorry about that”

Louise didn’t understand what Deanna was sorry for. There was no guarantee that John was still alive, but she firmly believed that he was. She didn’t care that she would never see him again as long as he still breathed air and didn’t ate humans.

“You have an accent” she observed, to which the older woman nodded.

“I do. I’m from Ohio. I was a congresswoman”

“Ohio? You’re far away from home” she arched an eyebrow, impressed.

“I was in D.C when everything started. My family and I were on our way back home when the government left us her to wait their return.” she explained. “And you? How far away from home are you?”

“My uncle had a ranch in Kentucky. We were visiting”

She wanted to tell her that she didn’t have a home, that it was impossible, with so many biters everywhere, it was almost impossible to stay somewhere long enough to consider it a home.

“You and your parents?”

“Yes” she nodded, not correcting her.

_ Me and mom. _

Her dad had died of lung cancer when she was seven, and it was a sore subject noone in her family brought up. It only made her mother sad, and Louise didn’t like it when her mom had to take pills to be happy.

“How did they die?” asked Deanna, crossing her legs.

Louise shifted. That woman might as well put some salt on the wound in her hand and it would have hurt less.

Sensing her discomfort, she changed the subject.

“Do you want to live here, Louise?”

“Is it an offer?” she replied with another question.

“Yes”

The one thing she liked about Deanna so far, besides her warm smile, was how direct she was.

“I could be a psychopath for all you know”

“True” conceded the woman “But I’ll figure that out on the run”

Louise crossed her arms.

“What’s the catch?”

“There’s no catch. You will be given the keys to a house and an occupation.”

“What about food and water?”

“Everything is divided equally among the community”

Everything? It meant that they didn’t have to share with another community; at least that’s what Louise assumed. She didn’t made questions though, she didn’t want to raise suspicion.

A place where she would be safe was ideal, but she knew it was too much to ask. Those people didn’t seem like the warrior type, and when the wall came down (and it would) she would be trapped with the lot of them.

Her eyes fell upon the house across the street. She could make out some figures behind a curtain. It looked like a family of four. 

That was what her mother wanted from her, and even though something told her it was a bad idea to stay, she didn’t want to be outside again.

She wanted to be able to sleep with both eyes closed, and wake up without a cramped hand from holding a gun or a knife all night long. She wanted to take regular baths, and three foods a day. She wanted a roof over her head when it rained.

She wanted to relax, even for just a day.

* * *

 

They actually gave her a house.

Her backpack was waiting for her at the door when she arrived, and the dirty clothes she had been wearing when she passed out laid on top of it.

Louise picked the t-shirt up and smelled it. Lavender. Her favourite. She never thought she would have clothes smelling like lavender again.

She tried to take the first step inside, but Tony beat her to it, running into the house and pushing her out of the way.

“Jesu’ cristo” she muttered under her breath, watching the animal walking around and smelling everything. He was just about to mark his territory when she walked into the kitchen.

“TONY! OUT”

He obeyed, thankfully.

A small giggle caught her attention.

Aaron stood on the doorway with a tray on his hands.

“Oh, hi again” he said, stepping inside. “I brought nachos”

In the old world, anybody who gave her nachos had been a hero for her.

“Try one” she said, crossing her arms across her chest.

“It’s not poisoned”

“That’s what a murdered would say”

With a small sigh, Aaron took a nacho dripped in cheese and put it in his mouth, closing his eyes and moaning.

“It’s good.It’s really good” he tried to tempt her.

Louise eyed the casserole before taking it, offering a small “thanks” in exchange.

Aaron smiled. He seemed to do that a lot.

“How do you like the house?” he asked.

Louise shrugged, looking around at the big kitchen. Everything was white and grey and modern. It seemed as if she were the first person to live there.

“Haven’t checked yet” she said.

“Right” Aaron clapped his hands together “Well, I’ll let you settle, then. I’ll pick you up tomorrow and take you to the nursery”

Deanna had decided that she should learn from Dr.Anderson after Louise confessed her mother had been a nurse. She knew some stuff, but given the choice, she wouldn’t have chosen to study medicine, but she didn’t dare to complain, even if that doctor made her uneasy.

“Me and Eric are right across the street. You can always come around if you need anything” 

She wasn’t going to.

“Sure”

Aaron left with one last smile and closed the door softly.

The smell of the nachos had her stomach roaring, and she sat on the floor and started eating.

When she looked up, Tony was sitting in front of her, head tilted and eyes drifting from her to the casserole.

She took a handful and offered it to him, eating with the other hand.

They shared the casserole in silence, and when there was nothing left, they both stared at the glass with disappointment.

Louise let her friend lick the casserole while she took a look around. 

The living room was nice. There were bookcases on the east wall, and an elegant fireplace on the north wall. In front of it rested a coffee table and a white couch with a blanket draped over it. The window behind it reflected the moonlight.

She found the switch and turned on the lights, noticing the frames on the west wall. They were all silver, and they were empty.

Louise remembered all the pictures she had stoked in a big envelope on her backpack, but discarded the idea. She didn’t want to get comfortable in a place she didn’t know.

Slowly, she took a tour of the house.

There was a small closet underneath the stairs, a bathroom and a bedroom.

She didn’t dare to venture into the basement, but after Tony came back at a relaxed pace she breathed, walking up the stairs.

She let her hand slide up the handrail, taking notice of more frames along the wall.

The second floor was as impressive as the first.

There was a small bedroom painted blue, with a walk-in closet, bunk beds and a desk. 

The other room was pretty similar, but the walls were of a light shade of pink. The bed had a mosquito net around it, and there were a few empty bookshelves on the wall, above the mahogany desk.

The master bedroom was painted a nice shade of taupe. It had its own bathroom and Louise almost cried in joy upon discovering it had hot, running water.

She took a shower. Even though she was clean, she didn’t like the idea of some stranger washing her up, especially while unconcious.

She stayed under the hot water until it ran out, relishing in the feeling. It hadn’t been that long since her last hot shower, (three weeks, maybe four) but she had resignated to never taking one after she left the Sanctuary.

She got out of the shower and put on a monkey’s short and a batman t-shirt.

She walked down the stairs whistling and locked the door, checking all the windows and closing the curtains.

Tony had made himself at home already, and he slept on the couch. 

Louise took notice of the cd-player on the bookshelf.

Walking to her (which she had left in her new bedroom), she took a cd bag her mother had insisted on taking whenever they travelled.

She walked down the stairs while looking for a cd, and smiled softly upon finding it.

She placed it on the player and pressed the button, sitting next to Tony.

The song began.

_ “Some boys kiss me, _

_ some boys hug me _

_ I think they’re ok” _

Her mother had been obsessed with Madonna since she was little, and that was where Louise had gotten her name from.

The song reminded her of her mom. After her dad’s death, her mother had been in multiple relationships. A big number of men had paraded  through her life, some had stayed longer than others, but never enough. They had all bored her pretty quickly.

Louise had gotten on a fight once, when a girl in her class had called her mother a “gold digger”. She was ten at the time and she remembered the smirk on John’s face and the scowl on her mother’s when they saw her holding a fistfull of the other girl’s hair.

It was truth, though. Her mother had a specific type, and most of the men she had dated were wealthy; but Louise didn’t care. She was her mother and she loved her, she wouldn’t let anybody say anything bad about her.

Her mother had loved them with all her being. She had always put their needs before hers, and the moment one of her boyfriends said something she didn’t like about her kids, he would be history.

She still remembered the time they had moved out of the state after one of her boyfriends tried to abuse her brother.

Louise and her mother had arrived just in time. She was eight, and at the time didn’t fully understand why that guy had his pants down, but she saw John struggling against him, and immediately mother and daughter jumped on his defense.

Even though it hadn’t gotten that far, it took almost a year before John smiled again, and her mother decided to teach them self defense after that.

It hadn’t been easy. Her mother was a nurse, but she was all alone with two kids in a foreign country;it took a while for Louise and her brother to learn the language, and for John to be old enough to get a part-time job so he could help out. She soon realized that everybody needed to contribute, so she took it upon herself to make sure the house was clean when her mother and brother arrived home.

She missed them. She missed John and his constant talk. That guy didn’t know how to shut his hole, he even spoke in his sleep. She missed seeing his nose buried in a book full of theories and formulas she didn’t understand.

She missed her mother’s embrace. She missed watching her getting ready for a date, and the thing she missed the most was singing to Madonna’s classics on her way to the school.

The song ended and another started, and Tony whined, licking her cheek.

Louise hadn’t noticed that she was crying.

Her mother had loved her children with all her being, until the day her sadness was stronger than love, and she left her alone.

She tried to stop crying to no avail, so she clung to Tony.

As the first sobre broke through her, she realized he was her only family now.

 


	2. Everything has changed

 

 

Chapter 2: Everything has changed

  
  


**_4 years prior_ **

 

_ Louise was fourteen years old when the world ended  _

_ She and her mother were visiting her uncle Jorge and his wife Elena when it happened.  _

_ She usually enjoyed visiting her uncle’s ranch on summers, but it was the first time John wasn’t there, (he had been accepted on a college in France, and had to fly there as soon as the summer started) and the pre-teen couldn’t bring herself to smile. She missed her brother dearly, and not having him beside her to share every little thing about her day was something she didn’t think she would get used to. _

_ She didn’t want to worry anybody, especially her mother, so she took refuge on her music. She had her earphones on as she danced across the stables. A few of the horses kept their eyes on her.   _

_ She had always been good at dancing. Being clever was her brother thing, and hers was following the music. On all of her years, there hadn't been a style she hadn't tried.   _

_ She moved around to an old rock song when her ipod ran out of battery. She kept on dancing, the rhythm printed on her head.  _

_ She heard a grunt and stopped. The horses around her moved around, clearly nervous.  _

_ She took her earphones off and placed them on her jacket, where her mother's phone was stacked (she wasn't allowed to have her own until she turned fifteen). Checking the time, she frowned. There was less than half an hour left to ten, which was the time John had said he would Skype from his room in campus. Her mother and uncle (whom had gone to the nearest city) should have been back already.  _

_ She felt uneasy, and the horses around her weren't helping.  _

_ All of the sudden, the lights on the stable went out and she jumped.   _

_ ‘Maybe there's a storm coming’ she thought, turning on the flashlight on her mom's phone. Walking towards the entrance, she looked up at the skies. They were clear. She also noticed there weren’t any lights on the house either.  _

_ The ranch had been drowned in an wary silence. Slowly, she walked towards the house. Each step seemed almost too loud, and Louise flinched every time her foot came into contact with the grass.  _

_ Upon hearing a grunt, the pre-teen spun around. It hadn't been that loud, but she had sharp ears and her senses were on high alert. On the shadows, she distinguished a silhouette, and with a heart trying to escape its prison, she ran towards the house.  _

_ Years of dancing had been rewarded with light feet. She was fast, but the hundred meters to the house seemed to last an eternity.  _

_ She jumped the steps of the old porch and walked inside, locking the door behind her. Looking out, she didn't see anything following her.  _

_ ‘Maybe it's my imagination’ she tried to convince herself. There was a reason why her mother had forbidden her from watching horror movies.  _

_ She walked down the small corridor, past the living room and into the kitchen, where she expected to find her aunt.  _

_ The kitchen was empty but the water was boiling, so she turned off the stove .  _

_ “Oh! There you are”  _

_ With as small yelp, Louise turned around. Her aunt moved around the place with a big, green bag on her hand.  _

_ “The light went out” she said, feeling stupid. Of course she would have noticed.  _

_ “Yes. I need you to go to your room and start packing”  _

_ The girl frowned. Her mother had said they would leave after the fourth, or maybe she had misheard.  _

_ “Why?”  _

_ Aunt Elena stopped for a second. She was tall and her dark skin showed signs of hard work under the sun. She always wore her black hair on a tight bun.  _

_ “I'm not sure, Lulu, but just do it. Pack light. Hurry”  _

_ Louise didn't move from her place as the lights turned back on.  _

_ “Where's mom and uncle Jorge? John’s gonna call soon”  _

_ “They'll be here soon. Now go”  _

_ “Something happened”  _

_ “ Louise! Ve a tu cuarto, mija”  _

_ Her aunt impatient tone had her sprinting up the stairs in no time.  _

_ She walked into the room she shared with her mother and took her backpack from the closet. She sat on the bed and stared at the clothes, wondering what she may need. Her aunt hadn't said where they were going, not for how long.  _

_ She began to worry. Had something happened to her uncle? To he mother? Or maybe John? She hoped they were all right.  _

_ She walked out of the room and went down the stairs. She could hear her aunt walking around.  _

_ “Where are we going?”  _

_ The woman jumped, clearly taken by surprise.  _

_ “I don't know” she answered, clearly exasperated. _

_ “Why do we have to leave?”  _

_ She sighed, irritated.  _

_ “Just do as you're told”  _

_ A loud noise was heard from the stables, and both ran towards the living room and moved the curtain aside.  _

_ The horses were whining, and Louise reached for the  door.  _

_ Just as she opened it, a truck parked right in front, and uncle Jorge and Louise's mom rushed out of it.  _

_ The girl's eyes widened at the sight. They were clearly in a hurry.  _

_ Louise's mother tripped over the steps.  _

_ “Go back inside” she urged.  _

_ “But the horses…”  _

_ “Now”  _

_ Louise hurried back in. Her mother never yelled.  _

_ “Where are we going?” she asked, following the woman into their shared bedroom “What do I need to take?”  _

_ Her mother began to throw random items into the backpack, not really paying attention to the task at hand.  _

_ “As far as possible”  _

_ “Why?” she asked, impatient.  _

_ The woman spared her a quick glance and pointed to the door.  _

_ “Give me that jacket”  _

_ Louise did as she was told, taking the clothing item from the hanger  and handing it to her.  _

_ “It's not safe anymore” she finally said, taking a small envelope full of pictures out of the nightstand (she always insisted on taking it everywhere, and Louise couldn’t understand why).  _

_ “What's not safe?”asked the girl, taking an extra pair of socks and placing them on the backpack.  _

_ Her mother sighed and closed her eyes. She didn’t know how to explain what she had seen without sounding like a madwoman.  _

_ “We just have to go, ok?”  _

_ Louise stared right into her eyes. Her mother was fearless, the girl had never met someone braver than her, and the last time her eyes had reflected such terror had been when her husband died.  _

_ Without uttering another word, the pre-teen took her pillow (Just like her mother travelled with a stack of pictures, she did the same with her pillow)  _

_ “What about John? He's gonna call in ten minutes. Can I talk to him before we leave?  _

_ “I don't think so, mija;  but I’m sue your brother is safe.”  _

_ Louise didn't dare to ask what she meant. She had a feeling she wouldn't get an answer.  _

_ “Cámbiate” ordered her mother, eyeing the yellow dress she was wearing.  _

_ Louise took a pair of khaki pants and a blouse.  _

_ She walked down the stairs once more and heard her aunt and uncle arguing.  _

_ “Esa mujer estaba muerta, y luego se levantó” said uncle Jorge while taking several water bottles “Tenía los ojos del diablo. Y los milicos disparaban pero ella seguía caminando. Se armó una revuelta…  _

_ He stopped mid sentence, taking notice of his niece.  _

_ “What are you doing, Lulú? Go get changed.”  _

_ “What dead people? What’s happening?”  _

_ Why was her uncle talking about dead people rising? It sounded like a bad horror movie, the kind John would let her watch behind their mother's back.  _

_ Uncle Jorge hurried out of the house with the bottles, and aunt Elena opened the door for him.   _

_ With her heart threatening to burst out of her chest, Louise walked into the bathroom. Her hands were shaking, but she managed to get out of her dress and into her other clothes.  _

_ Her mind couldn’t fully process what she had heard, and she found herself incapable of finishing a thought.  _

_ Her outfit didn’t really seem to match, but she figured that was the least of her problems.  _

_ When she exited the bathroom, only her aunt remained in the house. The woman was watching something through the window on the kitchen.  _

_ “Your mother and uncle went out to get more provisions” she said, handing her her blue jacket “Here.”  _

_ “Aunt Elena?” she called carefully “What was uncle talking about? What dead?” _

_ She wanted to ask if the man had smoked something, but knew her aunt wouldn't find the joke funny.  _

_ They heard a muffled sound by the door, and Louise’s head popped out of the kitchen and into the corridor. Through the glass of the door, she distinguished Mr. Johnson, a friend of her uncle.  _

_ The girl walked towards the door and took the key, ready to open the door.  _

_ “NO!”  _

_ It was too late. Louise turned the knob and Mr.Johnson's weight took her down. _

_ The child yelled, trying to escape his grip. Blue eyes looked back at her.  _

_ Mr.Johnson was covered in blood and part of his jaw was missing on the right side; but what scared Louise the most were his eyes.  _

_ They looked back at her without a trace of emotions, they didn't shine; they looked like a dead person's eyes.  _

_ She tried to get up, but his cold hand took hold of her ankle.  _

_ Aunt Elena hit him with a frying pan on the head, and Louise didn’t waste a second.  _

_ “Ve por detrás” she urged.  _

_ Louise didn’t hesitate.  She ran towards the kitchen and only paused to take the heavy backpack that laid on the table. The door was ajar, and she opened it with her foot.  _

_ She could feel her heart beating on her ears.  _

_ Her mother rushed towards her, taking the backpack from her hands.  _

_ “Let's go”  _

_ They quickly rounded the house and reached the truck. The woman yanked the door opened and Louise jumped in, putting on her her seatbelt.   _

_ A scream invaded the night, and mother and daughter froze.  _

_ Uncle Jorge appeared though the corridor, and through the open door, Louise saw him shooting Mr. Johnson in the head.  _

_ The girl couldn’t scream, she couldn’t do anything but stare, frozen in place, as her uncle keeled down next to his wife's corpse.  _

_ From the other side of the ranch, a horde made its way towards them.  _

* * *

  
  
  


Louise stared at her reflection. She still beat herself up for opening that door, and for running.

_ ‘It won’t change what happened’ _ she told herself ‘ _ It won’t help me now’ _

A few weeks had passed by since her arrival at Alexandria.

She had tried to lend a hand in the infirmary, but it didn’t take long for it to be obvious that Pete didn’t like having company. A woman called Denise was there on her first day and had explained, in hushed tones, that the doctor didn’t seem to like working alongside women.

Louise didn’t cross paths with Denise after that. The woman had, apparently, made act of appearance that first day to introduce herself.

By the end of the first week, Louise didn’t bother to stop by the infarmery; it was crystal clear that the doctor only saw her as an nuisance.

Instead, she spent some days touring the place. She saw this girl, Enid, climbing the wall nearly every day.

Ever since then, she would stop right in front of the wall once a day and watch. She wanted to go out, even for just a few minutes, but she feared what she would find. She knew it was a bad idea. She wanted to get used to feeling secure, but said security wouldn’t last, and the day she would have to face the dangers of the outside world once again would come and she would be in big trouble.

She found good company in Aaron and his boyfriend Eric. Quite often she would dine with them, and Louise didn’t need much time before finding herself growing fond of the couple. They both had the tendency to talk a bit too much, but the girl learned to not feel offended. Negan had more evil intentions on his pinky finger than those two in their entire body.

It was a sunny day of may, and Louise decided that it would be nice to walk around. She saw Enid heading towards the wall and made the blind eye.

Tony made himself comfortable on the grass and began to roll around. Shrugging, Louise sat beside him, under an apple tree.

Opening the book Reg Monroe had lended her, she tried to read, but found herself incapable of concentre. On the two months she had spent in Alexandria, she had accumulated enough energy to light the whole state. She needed to burn it somehow.

Her hand went to her pocket and she took out the small ipod Eric had given her and put on the earphones. The blonde man had found it in his house, but after charging it realized the music wasn’t to his taste.

An old song began playing, and dusting off her jeans, Louise got up and began to dance.

She had light feet and good resistance due to so many years of dancing, which had helped her to avoid danger. She moved around without thinking, making the choreography as she went, making up steps of her own.

Tony kept his eyes on her, ears stood up, barking from time to time, even though the girl couldn’t hear him.

A few songs played before she opened her eyes. Aaron held up an old camera, and Eric had his hands over his mouth,

“What are you doing?” she asked, taking her earphones off.

Tony strolled towards the men and sniffed their hands, only to run to the call of Sam Anderson.

“You never told us you could dance” squealed Eric, his eyes shining.

Louise shrugged.

“Everyone can dance”

“Not like that. Why didn’t you say anything?” Eric walked to her and took her small hands in his “Can you dance foxtrot? I’ve always wanted to learn”

“I know a little; and I didn’t think it would matter. I won’t kill any biters dancing”

“You can try with twearking” joked Aaron.

“What’s the camera for?” she changed the subject, nodding towards the small device.

“Oh!” the man looked down, as if just remembering he was carrying it around “It’s to prove the existence of this place. It’s not like I can make pamphlets so,...um, yeah”

“When are you leaving?

“Tomorrow” they answered at the same time.

“Oh.”

Louise didn’t know what to say. Besides Reg, Aaron and Eric were the only people she really talked to, and the idea of that pair on the outside world, risking their lives, didn’t sit well with her.

More than once she tried to offer as a volunteer, but Deanna had refused.

“When will you be back?”

Aaron considered it for a moment.

“When we run out of provisions, I suppose”

“Don’t worry, Lou; we’ll be back for those foxtrot lessons”

She tried to smile.

* * *

 

In the absence of Aaron and Eric, Louise began to fear for her sanity.

Her days seemed longer and more mundane, and it had reached the point where laying on the grass and staring at the sky for hours on end  was the most interesting part of her day.

More than once she tried to help Pete Anderson, but the man had made it clear that he didn’t want her assistance. She didn’t want to run to Deanna, it would only made her look like a kid who couldn’t take care of herself, incapable of solving her own problems.

She tried to make herself useful in other ways. She spent some days with Reg, helping him around with his projects,... Louise didn’t understand shit about architecture, so she just tended to keep herself out of the way and handing the man whatever he asked for,

 

The man didn’t seem annoyed by her presence. More often than not, he would take the time to explain what he was working on and how it worked, and he worried about her wellbeing. Reg had explained that he and Deanna had always wanted a daughter, but they had complications with Spencer, and after that they didn’t dare to take the risk.

Louise couldn’t help but get attached to the man. Even though he had spent most of the end of the world behind his walls, he seemed to understand what it felt like trying to reintegrate into society. He left her to be alone when she wanted to, and he never tried to make her talk about her experience out there.

He also reminded her of her father...what little she could remember of him, at least.

There were a few kids her age in Alexandria, just like there had been on the Sanctuary, but Louise didn’t feel comfortable in their company. She knew she was the problem. The kids in Alexandria had grown up as normal teenagers (as normal as they could, given the circumstances) while she had had to skip several parts of the process. Their eyes hadn’t seen the same horrors hers had (with the possible exception of Enid, but there was no way of knowing, since the girl refused to talk, and Louise didn’t want to force her). She noticed, with a certain amount of horror, that she didn’t know how to be a teenager. She hadn’t noticed it on The Sanctuary, for  spotting a kid was a rare event, but there was not escaping it in Alexandria.

She envied them. Each and every single one of them; but a part of her, small and sadistic, felt superior.

* * *

 

**Carl PoV.**

 

The third time he saw her, she was wearing a blue dress.

The first time, it had been in one of the pictures Aaron had showed them of Alexandria. One of them had fallen out of his hands and into the floor, and Carl had picked it up, noticing it was a girl. She seemed to be of his age, and it looked as thought she had been moving around when the picture was taken.

The second time it had been through a window, just a few minutes before walking out of his room and heading to the party Deanna was hosting for them. He saw movement coming from the house next door and leaned against his window, eyes widening when he saw the same girl from the picture. She stood in front of a mirror, wearing a white robe a size or two too big. 

Carl watched her as she brushed her hair and then walked out of the room.

He had tried to be normal around the other kids, but everything seemed too foreign, so he made up a quick excuse and walked down the stairs; he wanted to find his father and let him know he would be heading to bed early. He could take Judith with him (it was nearing her bedtime anyways) and maybe try to find Daryl.

He looked to the right and saw her. She had her back to him but he still recognized her, standing next to a tall man with greying hair.

_ It’s her. _

He swallowed the lump on his throat. Suddenly, Carl remembered he still had her picture on his back pocket, and couldn’t help but feel like a creep.

He saw the man (what was his name?) placing a gentle hand on her back as he guided her towards Glenn and Maggie.

Carl narrowed his eyes. She seemed stiff as a board, almost as if she were expecting a horde of walkers to crash the party. 

His throat was suddenly dry. He didn’t know what to do. Go and introduce himself? Then what? Tell her he had a picture of her on his pocket? She would surely run up the hills.

As if sensing the weight of his stare, she turned, and Carl found himself prisoner of the darkest eyes he had ever seen.

Frozen in place, her held her stare. Time ceased to exist, and he was only aware of her eyes as he tried to escape their spell. 

Finally, the girl smiled and nodded in his direction before turning around and continuing her conversation with Maggie.

Carl remained on his place, incapable of moving. The picture on his pocket seemed to be burning a hole, and he just wanted to hide it.

“A bit old for ya’, boy. Don’t ya’ think?

Abraham’s voice took him by surprise. His head turned in the direction of the ginger man, face quickly making competition with his hair.

Rosita rolled her eyes.

“Just go talk to her. She won’t bite”

“Ya’ better pray she does” Abraham winked at him, earning a small slap on the back of his head “Wha’? Wha’ did I say?”

Rosita rolled her eyes and walked away, Abraham following closely, taking a big sip from his beer.

Carl considered it. He could go and introduce himself. There was no harm in it, right? It was just a girl; not the first he ever saw nor the last.

He began to walk in her direction but stopped after a couple steps.  _ She  _ was walking towards him! A Mona Lisa smile adorned her face as she pretended to process what some people said to her.

Carl wiped his sweaty hands on his jeans and kept on walking to her.

It all seemed to happen in slow motion at first.

He stood in the middle of the room and raised his hand in greeting as she slowly walked past him, too immersed in her own world. Her arm brushed against his and he tensed as a loose strand of hair escaped her bun. She smelled like lavender.

Then, everything moved too quickly. She was gone, and Carl saw her through a window walking down the deserted street. His hand was still up.

Abraham’s booming laugh brought him back to reality. 

Red to the ears, he quickly resumed the search for his dad.

* * *

 

He couldn’t sleep.

The bed underneath him felt too soft, the house was too quiet.

He got up and put on his clothes once more. Checking on Judith, he smiled softly at her sleeping form before making his way out of the house.

It must have been way past midnight, and the full moon shone upon the community.

A breeze flew by and he closed his eyes, enjoying it.

“Hey, sheriff”

Carl jumped, taken by surprised. Looking to his right, he noticed the girl from the picture staring at him from her porch.

Her arms were crossed over her chest and a curious expression had taken over her pretty features.

“Can’t sleep?”

Was she talking to him?

“Yes, I’m talking to you, pendejo. Who else?

Had he said that out loud?

“Um,...” 

Carl almost slapped himself.

_ Great answer. _

He wasn’t sure of what to say, so he just stood frozen in place once more. Like an idiot.

She seemed to take pity on him, and nodded her head behind her, turning on her heels, and disappearing from view.

Slowly, Carl neared the house, finding her sitting on the steps of the porch, an almost empty plate of spaghetti forgotten to her side.

He stared at her. She was still wearing the same blue dress from the party, but her hair fell on loose waves down her back. It looked a little dry. 

She was staring at him too; studying, would be a better word for it. Her curious eyes took him in as if he were from another galaxy.

Her eyes; they weren’t as dark as Carl had originally thought. They were brown, and upon locking gaze with them, he knew she had been out there too. Her eyes had lost a considerable amount of their light, they were haunted, the same way the eyes of the rest of his group was.

He also found, as strange a combination it seemed, that they were still innocent, to an extent.

Before he could say anything, a dog interrupted their moment, sprinting out the door towards him.

Carl tried to back away, but the dog jumped on him and almost sent him down the steps.

He barely managed to keep balance while the beast licked his face.

“He likes you” a smooth sound escaped her.

Carl’s eyes landed on the girl once more. She was staring at the dog with a loving smile on her face.

“What’s his name?” asked Carl, petting the dog, whose tail seemed to be evoquing a tornado.

“Tony”

Carl nodded. Upon hearing his name, Tony sat down and tilted his head, eyes landing on his owner.

Her brown eyes were set on him once more.

“What about you, sheriff? Do you have a name?”

Without the dog to distract him, Carl felt the nerves rising again.

“Uh, Carl. Carl Grimes” he said finally, offering his hand.

This time, she didn’t ignore him, accepting the hand with a slightly raised brow.

Her skin was brown and as smooth as her voice sounded. Carl fixated his gaze on their hands, and couldn’t help but notice the way his own too pale hand contrasted against hers.

“Well, Carl Grimes, it’s nice to meet you, I guess. I’m Louise Rossi”

Louise. Louise. He liked it.

Louise patted the empty spot next to her and Carl sat down.

Once he did, all anxiety seemed to fade away. There was something serene about her, and Carl wondered if it was contagious. Maybe it was the lavender smell radiating off her.

“What’s your favourite colour?”

He was taken by surprise. Why would she ask that?

“Um,...I don’t know,...blue?”

“Good choice.” she said, twisting her body so she was facing him “So, Carl, tell me: how do you like Alexandria so far?”

“It’s nice” he answered mechanically.

Louise tilted her head for a second, only to laugh after.

“Yeah, right” she seemed amused by his answer, but then shrugged “But I suppose anything is better than being out there”

He frowned, thinking of Terminus.

“No, not really”

Her curious eyes never strayed from him.

“Mm” was her clever answer “Very well. Now, be honest”

Carl’s eyes scanned the dark street. It all looked so peaceful, it made him wary.

How could he explain himself? How could he tell her that he had a gun under his pillow, and that he never knew what to do or say when Ron Anderson spoke to him? How could he explain to her that he wanted to run away, back to the outside world? Because a known evil was better than than ignoring the current state of the world; but at the same time, he wanted to be normal, he wanted to fit in and live a life were he wouldn’t have to worry about a walker biting someone he cared about, nor when his next meal would be,  _ if _ he got one.

He couldn’t pour his heart out to her; not just because Carl himself wasn’t too sure about how he felt, but because she was a stranger.

“You want to yell, don’t you?”

He looked up and saw her smiling again, but this one was a compassionate one. He was at a loss of words, so he let her speak freely.

“You spent so much time out there, and now you’re here. You think you’ll adjust to this life easily but you can’t; so you try harder and in the process you get even more frustrated. They make you feel like a freak, even if it is unintentional, but in reality  _ they _ are the freaks, refusing to adjust to this new, fucked up normal we live in. You want to tell them about what it’s like out there, but believe me, they don’t think they’ll ever be in that situation.

“You think this place is too good to last, and in one hand you know you’ll have a better chance of survival when it falls, but at the same time you wish to be ignorant and just enjoy; but you can’t.”

She leaned in closer to him.

“Did I get everything right?”

Carl pondered her words for a few moments, and he was thankful she didn’t push him for an immediate answer.

“Almost” he looked back at her with a heavy heart “I think Alexandria can survive, with my group’s help”

“Look at you” she crossed her arms as her smile widened. Now she just seemed amused “Our saviour”

Her tone lacked malice, so Carl figured it wasn’t her intention to offend him.

“Have you been out there?” he asked instead, wanting to change the subject.

He knew the answer, but he figured it was best to ask anyways.

“Yeah. I got here like two months ago” she didn’t hesitate, almost like a rehearsed answer.

He fumbled with his hands for a second. 

“And have you gotten used to this?”

She studied him for a minute, and he felt the urge to fix his hair and change into cleaner clothes. When he wasn’t hanging to every word she said, he was fighting his hormones.

“I’m gonna ask you something, Carl, and your answer will determine if I can tolerate you or if I’ll just think of you as another teenage alien habitating this place”

_ What? _

“Uh,...ok”

“Do you want a pleasing answer or the truth?”

What kind of question was that? Maybe he should just stay away from girls. They were so strange and complicated, and he had only talked to her for ten minutes.

“The truth?” it sounded like a question.

She looked away, sighing with resignation.

“I’ve got used to pretending”

He nodded, feeling his hopes dying.

“Maybe you didn’t try hard enough”

She looked at him out of the corner of her eyes.

“Maybe”

Suddenly, she stood up.

“All this talk made me hungry again. Want some spaghetti?

Before Carl could process her question, she turned on her heels and walked inside the house, followed by Tony.

He should definitely stay away from girls.

 

 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> A/N: Next chapter we’ll see what Louise thinks of Rick and his group. I don’t think the PoV switch will be done often. Writing the first meeting from Carl perspective is something that I did without thinking, but I like how it turned out. What do you think?  
> So,...there will be small parts in spanish, and I try to explain later what was said (like I did with Louise’s uncle and the “dead people rising”) but if you want I can always make a full translation at the end of the chapter.  
> You will soon realize that Louise has a foul mouth,...and that she’s got no chances of winning Master Chef,...hehehehe *inserts Mr.Burns face* I got plans.  
> I’ve decided that all chapters will be named after a song. If there ever is an exception I’ll let you know on a note.  
> Thank you very much for taking the time to read!! And a special thanks to those who followed the story, gave kudos, favourite or whatever it is you can do on the site you’re reading this.  
> Happy new year!!


	3. Helpless

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> A/N: So, this chapter starts off before Louise leaves the party.
> 
> There’s a particular joke near the end of this chapter and I wanna apologize for it,..I just couldn’t help it,...so yeah. You’ll know what I’m talking about when you read it.
> 
> Thanks for waiting and for reading!
> 
> I hope you like it :)

 

Chapter 3: Helpless

  
  
  


Louise was bored. Her idea of a party was different from Deanna’s. Had someone in her family thrown a party, then the stereo would be blasting some salsa or an old cumbia, and people would be yelling instead of talking, because for some reason they refused to turn the volume down. There would come the time when a slightly drunk cousin would start a karaoke contest and another a dancing contest. Laughter would be heard until well past midnight.

She had never gotten used to the party style of the american people. Sometimes it was nice, but she enjoyed it more when her mother threw a party.

She had to admit though, it was nice being able to talk instead of yelling.

She had been introduced to some members of the new group. Glenn and his wife, Maggie, had been particularly nice, but she guessed that was in their nature.

She felt bad for them. Deanna had thrown a party for her when she arrived and it had been an awkward affair for her. Everybody had kept on asking why she was alone, where her mother was, and expressing pity for the girl who was found passed out outside the gates. At one point, Aaron had noticed her expression, and he then snuck her out of the house through the back door. Unfortunately, Aaron had skipped that party, so he couldn’t help her again. She actually had to talk to people, and so far it hadn’t been as bad as she anticipated.

Louise guessed she couldn’t do the same for this group. There was a lot of them, but at least they seemed to be dealing with the party better than she had.

“Stamp”

She turned and took notice of Sam Anderson, whom had already taken Glenn’s hand and stamped a big, red ‘A’ on it. The korean man blinked, clearly taken by surprise.

“Uh,...thanks, buddy?”

Next, he walked up to Maggie.

“Stamp” 

The woman smiled and extended her hand.

“Now you’re one of us” said Sam, giving the couple a wide grin.

He turned towards Louise and checked her hands.

“Stamp”

She sighed.

“What am I? A cow?”

“Please” Sam gave her the puppy eyes, but she refused to look at him.

“No. That thing takes days to wash off”

“C’mon, Louise. How can you say no to that face?” asked Maggie.

Louise narrowed her eyes.

“Fine. You’re lucky I look good on red.”

Sam took her hand and stamped it before running off.

“That wasn’t so bad, was it?” Glenn smiled at her.

“I don’t like you anymore”

The couple chuckled, looking around the room.

“How long have you been here?” asked Glenn, taking a sip from his drink.

“Around three months”

“Aaron found you?”

She shook her head, swallowing her cookie before speaking.

“No. Me and Tony were running from biters when Spencer found us”

“Tony?”

“My dog. I found him when he was a puppy, after everything started”

She had actually found Tony’s mother. The poor thing was so skinny one could count all her ribs, and around her laid six puppies. She kept on licking them, as if expecting them to wake up, but only one was alive. 

Louise had wanted to keep them both, but her mother convinced her that there was nothing they could do for the mother.

She took a t-shirt out of her backpack and used it as a blanket for Tony. Both her mother and uncle thought it was a bad idea to bring a dog along; it was another mouth to feed and he could attract biters if he made too much noise, but the girl had refused to leave him alone.

She let her uncle put Tony’s mother to rest and found a small abandoned house in the forest. 

Luckily for her, his lactance period was almost over, so she didn’t have to worry too much about the type of milk he needed and how to give it to him.

As he grew, Tony became attached to her, and he would always follow her everywhere. He was smart, and it didn’t take long to teach him to keep quiet. It didn’t always work, but they were lucky.

Negan had liked Tony, and he had allowed her to keep him, even though some of his men weren’t too happy with the idea. She knew that some people in The Sanctuary didn’t like the dog, but they never said anything about it. She was Negan’s step daughter and they knew what would happen if they did something against the girl’s pet.

“Oh! How old is he?” asked Maggie, her eyes glimmering with excitement “What race? Or is he mixed? Who cares? Dogs are awesome!”

“He’s almost four. And yeah, he’s super awesome”

“You managed to survive with a dog out there? For almost four years?” asked Glenn.

He seemed impressed.

Louise started to sweat. Most of that time had been spent in The Sanctuary, where Tony’s occasional barks only bothered the living. It had been rough when they ran away; even though it helped her to know when a biter was close, it also attracted more. There was no way she would have survived much longer without having to make a dreadful decision.

“He’s smart” she shrugged.

“So, it was just you and the dog?” he asked, concern suddenly covering his face.

_ Why would he be concerned? It’s not like he knows me or something. _

“Um, yeah. Mom died a few months ago” she answered as vaguely as she could.

“I’m so sorry”

She nodded.

“It’s fine”

_ No, it isn’t. She left me alone, and all because of him. _

“So, you’re all alone?” 

Her brown eyes landed on Maggie’s green ones, they gave away pity.

“No, I got Tony”

Maybe having a dog wasn’t the same as having a person beside you, for some people, but Louise wasn’t like that. That dog was family.

Maggie opened her mouth and closed it again. Her husband gave her a quick look, and as if guessing what she meant to say, he spoke:

“You don’t have to be alone, Louise. You can always come to us”

She frowned. These two had just met her, and yet they seemed to worry as much as Aaron and Eric did. Most people here knew her as the orphan girl, but they barely spoke to her, and yet this pair offered their hand after barely fifteen minutes of conversation.

She came to the conclusion that it was either an empty offer, or that they were good people. She feared the second, for good people were the first ones to die in this world.

“Thank you” she smiled softly.

Without really thinking about it, she turned and her eyes locked with those of a boy. He was standing in the middle of the room looking at her. He reminded her of a scared deer.

She felt bad for him, so she sent a smile his way and nodded.

“What do you do here?” 

Maggie’s voice reclaimed her attention, and she gave it to her.

“Uh, I’m supposed to help Doctor Anderson, but he’s not really one for teamwork so I try to help Mr. Monroe as much as I can. Sometimes I help Olivia, I clean up the store and do stuff”

“Monroe’s the one that designed the wall, right?”

Louise nodded.

“Yeah, he did. It lasted longer than I thought”

They gave her a confused look, so she explained.

“There’s no permanent guard, so it’s a miracle that the biters haven’t found a way around it”

“No permanent guard?” Glenn was the one frowning now.

“No. It’s a stupid move, if you ask me, but Deanna won’t listen to me. Why do adults never listen to teenagers? Do they think we’re stupid?”

Maggie tried to smile.

“I’ll take it up to her. You’re right about this”

“I know”

Glen chuckled at her fake arrogant expression.

They talked for a few more minutes before Louise decided to go back home.

“I better go. Tony doesn’t like to be alone for too long. See ya’ around”

With one last smile, she turned and headed straight to the front door. Some residents greeted her, but she only nodded, not really listening.

She let out a sigh when the door closed behind her and, without wasting any time, began the short walk to her house.

The air was dry, but she liked that kind of weather.

Everything was quiet, and she couldn’t help but look over her shoulder from time to time. That’s how she noticed someone sneaking into the armory.

Curious, she walked towards the house and leaned over the window.

She recognized the woman as one of the new group. She was petite, with short grey hair and an elf-like face.

“Heyo!”

The woman jumped, bumping her knee against the desk.

“Whatcha doin’?” asked Louise, smirking.

The teen crossed her arms over her chest.

“Who are you?” asked the woman, eyeing her suspiciously.

“I’m Louise. Who are you?”

“Carol”

“I’m pretty sure there’s like, a book or something named that” she said, trying to remember. Her mother had read it once or twice “Something about lesbians” looking up again, it almost seemed like she had, for a moment, forgotten about the woman’s presence “Anyway, you didn’t answer my question” 

Carol didn’t say anything for a few seconds, and Louise waited, clearly amused.

“Well, I was sent by Olivia to,...”

“Right. Santa Claus is my dad”

Carol gave her a weird look and Louise rose her hands in surrender.

“I thought we were bullshitting each other” she crossed her arms again “Look, lady, I know what you’re doing, but as long as you don’t hurt anybody without good reason, I won’t tell”

“You won’t?” asked Carol, she clearly had trust issues. Not that Louise could blame her.

“Hell no. Snitches gets stitches or something like that.” She nodded towards a small desk “Olivia keeps inventory over there. She’s gonna notice the guns are gone”

“Then I take the book”

Louise buffed at the stupid idea and climbed up the window into the house.

“Nah. I can forge her handwriting and she won’t notice. She’s got a bad memory, that’s why she relies on books so much”

Carol took a step away from her, towards the rifles.

“Please don’t kill me. I’m too young”

“Why do you help me?”

Louise shrugged. 

_ Because I wanna be on your good side in case you all go Rambo on this place. _

“I’ve been wanting to to the same thing you’re doing for a while. Those walls don’t put me at ease” she wasn’t exactly lying. The walls did kept her up at night sometimes.

“And the people?” 

“I guess there are a few weirdos, but everybody’s pretty harmless”

She opened the drawer and took out the book. Turning on the lamp, she reached for a pencil.

“How many are you taking?”

After a moment of hesitation, Carol leaned over her shoulder.

“Just those three” she pointed to the last page, where there were seven different models written down “

“Ok” carefully, she ripped of the page and wrote down the other four models on the new one.

“You’re not taking one with you?”

“Nah, I don’t like guns”

“But you said you wanted to take some”

“Yeah, but after looking them up close I changed my mind. I’ll keep my kitchen knife under my pillow”

“A gun is the best option” said Carol, taking the three she had chosen. “You don’t have to like it, it’s about if you live or die”

Louise decided to ignore her words an searched for the page where Olivia kept count of the ammo and ripped off the one Carol pointed at, quickly replacing everything with new numbers.

“Why are you helping me?”

“ ‘Cause I’m a spicy angel”

The woman rolled her eyes.

“Be serious”

“Are you the one who made the cookies?”

“Yes”

“Teach me and we’ll be even”

“Is that all?”

Louise looked up.

“Yeah” her eyes took notice of Sam Anderson standing behind Carol. “Sup, buddy?”

“What are you doing?” asked the kid, stepping inside the room and shifting his gaze between Carol and Louise.

“Stealing” said the latina, earning a murderous look from Carol “Wha’? It’s the truth.”

She kept her dark eyes glued to Carol, and could almost see the wheels turning in her head. Quickly, the woman regained her composure, she straightened up and smiled sweetly.

“Sam, what are you doing here?”

_ Stalking us? _

“Followed you” he said, almost embarrassed. “I was hoping you were gonna make more cookies but then you came here”

In the kid’s defense, those were some killer cookies. Louise decided not to say anything and let the adult handle the situation. She finished writing in the book and quickly put it back in its place. She was thankful for Olivia’s tidiness, she had separate sections in the book for everything. Had it all been scrambled in the same list, it would have taken a lot more work.

“Well, I could make more” offered Carol, taking a step forward, towards Sam. “I could make a whole batch just for you. You like that?”

Sam nodded, enthusiastic.

“Yes. I mean, yes, please.”

“Ok. But you gotta promise me you can keep it secret that I came here.

Sam shrugged, not seeing much problem.

Louise leaned against a door frame.

“But I have to tell mom. I mean, I tell my mom everything.”

_ I’ll ask about that when he hits puberty. _

“You can never tell anyone,” said Carol. Her posture was the same, but her voice had lost its sweetness “especially your mom.” after a brief pause, Carol took another step forward, her voice eerily casual “Because if you do, one morning you’ll wake up,” Sam started to walk backwards, in an attempt to keep some distance, but Carol was quickly cornering him “ and you won’t be in your bed.

“Where will I be?” asked Sam, trying to act brave.

“You’ll be outside the walls,” whispered Carol. In the quiet room, Louise could still hear her, and her eyebrows shot up “ far, far away, tied to a tree. And you’ll scream and scream because you’ll be so afraid. No one will come to help because no one will hear you... Well,  _ something  _ will hear you. The monsters will come. The ones out there, and you won’t be able to run away when they come for you. And they will tear you apart and eat you up, all while you’re still alive. All while you can still feel it. And then afterwards, no one will ever know what happened to you”

They stared at each other in silence for a few seconds.

“Or you can promise never tell anyone what you saw here and then nothing will happen. And you’ll get cookies. I know what I think you should do”

Poor Sam was shaking from head to toe, and Louise couldn’t blame him.

“Y-y-yeah. Y-y-you’re right” he managed to utter out.

Carol’s voice lit up.

“I’m so glad you agree with me. Now go back to your mom. I’ll make those cookies first thing in the morning”

Sam didn’t need to be told twice. He turned and bolted through the door.

Louise whisteled.

“That was cold, lady”

Carol turned to her, her expression unamused.

The teen cleared her throat.

“I think I’ll go home now”

* * *

 

Louise wasn’t quite sure why she had invited that kid into her house, but she did have a lot of spaghetti she rather not throw away, and she wasn’t about to give it all to Tony, since she wasn’t too sure if dogs could eat pasta.

_ I rather kill him than the dog. _

Carl followed her slowly, taking in everything around him. He must have noticed the lack of personalization, but thankfully he didn’t brought up the subject.

She grabbed a clean plate and served a generous amount of food in it.

“Is this ok?” she asked.

Carl jumped and dropped the comic he had picked up from the table.

“Uh, sorry. I saw it laying there and…”

She shrugged.

“Don’t worry. You can keep it if you want; I didn’t like it that much”

She wasn’t really into comic books, but Ron Anderson had given her a few; it seemed as if he expected the gift to be an ice breaker. 

She read the comics but didn’t bother talking to him again; something about that boy made her anxious.

“Thanks” said Carl, placing it on the kitchen counter, where he took a seat.

Louise placed the plate in front of him and offered him a small salsa pot.

“Here, I don’t know how much you like to put on”

She took a sit in front of him and placed two glasses of water in between.

Carl took a bite and froze, his eyes widening.

Louise smiled.

“It’s good, isn’t it?”

He hesitated before nodding, chewing slowly.

“I knew it! Gordon Ramsay got nothing on me”

“Who?”

She waved a hand.

“Doesn’t matter” she leaned over the counter with a curious look on her face “Tell me: how did Aaron convinced you lot to come here? He won’t tell me about it, and I know he’s not as charming as he think he is”

Carl wiped his mouth with the back of his hand and Louise raised an eyebrow, offering a papel tower. His cheeks turned pink, and their fingers brushed as he took the papel tower from her.

“We tied him up while we checked he wasn’t lying” he said, taking a big gulp of water.

“You tied him up?” smirked Louise.

She tried to picture him, and couldn’t help but chuckle.

“After my dad knocked him out”

“Cool.” he gave her a confused look “I mean I like Aaron, but I can’t help it. The mental image is funny”

He rolled his eyes.

“Yeah, well, my dad was the one who needed more convincing, but we managed”

“We?” Louise crooked her head. “So you wanted to come here?”

“Yes”

“You didn’t think that a guy following you and talking about a safe community wasn’t suspicious at all?”

“Did you?” he asked, taking small bites of his food .

“I kinda passed out in the woods and woke up here, so I wouldn’t know; but I like to think that I wouldn’t have thrown myself first chance”

“Of course it sounded weird, but,...” he paused for a moment, as if trying to gather up his thoughts “I had to take the risk, for my sister”

Her eyes lit up.

“You got a sister?”

“Yeah. Judith, she’s one year old”

“Oh! A baby! I haven’t seen one in,...a hell of a long time”

“Do you have siblings?”

Her smile fell, and Carl took notice. He frowned.

“I’m sorry, I didn’t mean to…”

“No, it’s fine” she dismissed him with a smile, a fake smile “I have an older brother, John”

“He’s here?”

She shook her head.

“No. Um, he was in France when everything started”

She wondered what John would look like nowadays.

“Anyway!” she smiled once more “What’s with the hat, sheriff?”

His hand automatically flew to said hat, and he moved it around a little.

“It was my dad’s. He used to be a police officer before”

“Cool. Can I try it on?”

Without waiting for an answer, she took the hat off his head and placed it on hers. It was too big and it fell over her eyes, but she accommodated it so she could see.

“How do I look?”

“Kinda ridiculous”

“Ha! How dare you?” she playfully pointed at him with her fingers, as if they were guns “You got a right to remain silent. That’s pretty much all I know”

Carl couldn’t help himself, so he let a smile make its way through his face. When he first saw her at that party, he would never had imagined she could be so,...silly and carefree. The way their conversation had started just outside her house felt as if it had been held with an entire different person.

A growl took his attention, and he turned to see Tony, sitting next to Louise. It surprised him to realize he was growling at her.

Rolling her eyes, she took off the hat and placed it once more upon his head. Carl tried not to move when she leaned over to him, and prayed to god she didn’t notice his red cheeks. 

She smelled nice. And she looked even nicer up close.

Tony stopped growling, and he took a few steps closer towards her.

“He was growling at you” said Carl, dumbfounded.

“He didn’t recognize me with your hat. Dogs can be pretty dumb sometimes” Tony whined and she smirked “What? It’s true.”

Carl chuckled, and Louise eyes fell upon him; there was a mischievous light in them.

“They’re just like men” she said casually, leaning against her seat.

His chuckle stopped abruptly.

“Hey! That’s not true”

“Oh, and how would you know?”

He was confused.

“What do you mean? I am a…

“A man?” her eyes were so alight with mirth it was mesmerizing “Hardly.” she looked him up and down, and Carl gulped “A boy, yes”

“I am a man”

“I don’t think so”

“I am”

“Nah”

“Yes”

“Ok, then” she leaned over the counter and crossed her arms “How do you know?”

“How could  _ you  _ know?” he shot back, rather aggressively.

What was it with her? One minute she was making a fool of herself and the next she was insulting him.

It didn’t brought him a step closer to figure her out when she started laughing.

“Chill, sheriff” she said, smacking his hat, succeeding in covering his eyes “I was just kidding.” she leaned back again and watched him, curiosity taking over her lovely features “You’re sensitive”

“Am not”

She smiled softly.

“It wasn’t an insult, Carl. I like sensitive people”

She said it so casually, but he couldn’t help let his mind wander. Did she like him? How could it be? They had just met! Although he had to admit he was a little captivated by her, but that was probably because she was the first girl he had seen in some time.

There was also Enid, he remembered. But he felt immediately rejected by her. Louise had been curious, but not in an intrusive way; and she had also been welcoming. Maybe that was it. Maybe it was because talking to her, as strange as it had been so far, had felt more natural. They had both been out there for a long time, and she didn’t treat him like some fragile piece of glass, or like a freak.

It didn’t quite explain the blushing part, but Carl was confident it would pass with time.

_ It’s probably because she’s pretty. _

He took another bite.

He could be friends with her.

 

* * *

 

It didn’t take long to realize Carl was easy to talk to. He didn’t look at her as if she were a wonded animal, and his eyes lacked the judgment most people (even hers) had.

She didn’t pour out her heart to him, but they stayed up talking about what, she suspected, was normal teenage stuff for a while.

“I wonder if The Rock made it” she said out loud, absentmindedly scratching Tony behind his ears.

“I think Tom Cruise is definitely still alive” said Carl, his spaghetti carefully set aside.

She agreed, and opened her mouth to say something only tu shut it and listen. Someone was calling out a name outside, nearby. The person wasn’t being loud, but she had a sharp ear.

It seemed like Carl had heard it too.

“Who's Coral?” she asked, frowning.

Carl had told her a bit of every member on his group, and unless he had forgotten about someone, she was pretty sure there weren’t any Corals in Alexandria.

His cheeks tinted pink, and she wished she had kept track of how many times he had blushed that night.

“T-thats me” he stuttered, getting up.

Tony went outside.

Louise raised an eyebrow, clearly amused.

“Coral? That’s your middle name or something?”

“No!” he answered, defensive “My dad's got an accent”

“Sure. Blame it on the accent”

He rolled his eyes, only for them to land on the dishes.

Louise waved a hand.

“Don’t worry, Coral. Just this once I won't make you clean”

He thanked her and she walked him outside (she had left the door wide open), where a man was just nearing her house, Tony next to him.

He spotted Carl and quickened his pace.

“I told you to stay inside” he reprimanded him.

Carl tried to play it cool.

“Relax. I was with Louise”

The man’s eyes landed on her, and the girl noticed they were the same shade of blue as his son’s.

“Nice to meet you, Mr. Grimes” she extended her hand.

He gave a firm handshake.

“Just Rick it’s fine”

He did have an accent, but she didn’t think it was too weird.

“Louise and I were just…you know…nothing weird…”

She took pity on Carl and interrupted his blabbering.

“We just ate and talked. He doesn’t know who David Bowie is”

_ “Shame on you _ .” She wanted to say, but she doubted Mr.Grimes would appreciate it.

Rick nodded, not sure of what to say.

“Won’t your parents be angry that you're up at this hour?”

“Maybe…if they weren’t six feet under”

“Uh…” Rick was at a loss of words, he hadn’t meant to upset her.

Louise turned to Carl.

“I guess I'll see you around.”

“Yeah!” he said too quickly, and then tried to play it cool “I mean, maybe”

Carl stood next to his father and they both gave her an awkward wave.

“Night, Coral”

“Coral?” asked Rick as they walked down the steps of the porch.

“Ignore her. She’s crazy” answered the son, hurrying up.

Louise didn’t have the heart to tell them how bad they were at whispering, so instead, she turned around and closed the door.

Checking the clock, she realized it was past three, and Carl had arrived a little after midnight.

Time does fly when you’re having fun.

  
  
  
  
  
  



End file.
